Motorcyclists may look tough and dangerous, but they are some of the most vulnerable people on Tennessee's roads. The nature of a motorcycle means that bikers are more exposed to the elements and more precariously balanced. On Nashville's busy roadways, also pose a great risk to drivers of all kinds. If anything goes wrong while a motorcyclist is traveling, it can easily lead to catastrophic injuries or death.
Five people were injured -- one of them critically -- recently when two motorcycles and two cars were involved in a multi-vehicle accident in South Nashville. According to police, two motorcycles pulled out from McGavock Pike onto Harding Place, where a car struck one of the motorcycles and then ran into a pickup truck. The second motorcyclist was able to avoid the car, but apparently lost control of the bike in the attempt and crashed. One person was being treated in critical condition at a local hospital.
Multi-vehicle accidents are extremely dangerous for anyone, but especially so for motorcyclists, who may be thrown onto the road and run over by another vehicle. Multi-vehicle motorcycle accidents also raise complicated legal issues when it comes to the question of who was at fault for the accident.
When a person is injured in a traffic accident caused by another driver's negligence, the injured may be compensated for damages through a personal injury lawsuit. Drivers may be found negligent when they fail to exercise the same level of care that a reasonable person would under similar circumstances, and someone is injured as a result.
However, in the middle of the chaos of a multi-vehicle accident, it's possible for one vehicle to injure another person without the driver being legally responsible. In some cases, there's nothing a reasonable person could have done differently to avoid the injury. However, in some cases, a negligent driver may be held liable for injuries to a person who was struck by a different car, if the negligent driver was responsible for starting the multi-vehicle accident.
In cases such as these, injured Tennessee residents need help conducting a thorough investigation of the circumstances of the accident. These investigations can be difficult, but they can also be crucial to making sure the injured get the compensation they need.
Source: WZTV, "Top Stories," Sept. 14, 2013